Revival of Mana
by JD The Treecko
Summary: A boy named Shaun was chosen by the Mana Sword, but for what reason? He's not even entirely human. He discovers that he isn't entirely human, which only complicates things more. Only a human with a pure heart can wield the Mana Sword, so why choose him?
1. How I Became Myself

**I've had this idea for a few months now. Dormant within my mind this story waited until the perfect opportunity to burst forth. I was planning on just making this as my first project in RPGMaker2003, but I felt I should write it too. Honestly I thought this up because for months now I have been feeling EXTREMELY paranoid. So paranoid that I can feel you as you walk around me. I don't mean literally feel you as in touching, but as in a sense. Have you ever felt when someone holds something near your head and you could feel that it was close? That's how it feels when someone is within 5ft of me. Well that's all I have to say really. Hope you enjoy this.

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**Chapter 1: How I became Myself**

Name's Shaun, I was a normal human being just like you, went to public school, had a few friends, and even parents. I was always different though, I never acted the same as everyone around me. I was on the other side of the new gen, the rock music and anime side. Many of my friends found it odd since I'm black and don't really like hip hop and rap much. You heard me I'm black and am not trying to be a fucking follower of the music I listen to. I talk an educated slang, I know how to use my words right. A lot of people called me lame for being this way, you are who you are. I was always picked on in school and never traveled in a group. I was always alone, never liked to work in groups, never walked home with my friends, never had any backup. It was always me alone. My face shows no emotion, whether I'm happy, mad, upset, or even crying. The only time you'll ever see a smile on my face is if I laugh. People called me emo because of this, I never understood why. How can I be something that I never show? It doesn't make any sense. Sure I act as if I am ready to commit suicide, but that's only because I prefer to be left alone and most people avoid the emo kid. The few people who have actually tried to help my so called 'emoness' are my only friends as they have actually gotten to know me. They know I'm not truly emo or even anywhere near that. The way I really am? I'm actually a pretty nice guy, I'll always take my time to help you, which is pretty odd because I hate to work with others. I'll never leave someone behind, whether they are my enemy or my ally. I value your life over mine and would gladly risk mine to save yours. I am brave, I never back down no matter how scared I am. I even take unnecessary risks, like one time when I was being robbed. On my way home from the mall, some random guy had ran up to me, put a gun to my head, and told me to give him everything I had. I told him "Go ahead and shoot, I'm not scared of a little gun." I almost shit myself while I said this. He kept threatening to shoot but never did. So I continued walking home and he gave up. To this day I never understood why people always give in to fear. Fear is only a state of mind, yeah you feel it and it can be REALLY bad, but the only thing hindering you from doing what you want is yourself. Another thing my friends found odd about me was that when they asked me what I thought my element would be, I told them I am light. All of them chose darkness. That's another thing I don't understand, why does everyone want to be all dark and emo and evil? I personally hate that about those people. "Why do you have to be the villain? Why do you have to be all dark and held up inside of yourself? Furthermore why do you want to be destruction when you can be origin?" I would ask those questions to anyone who chose darkness as their element. And their response would always be "How can you be light of you aren't even religious?" I'm not religious, I refuse to say why I am not for reasons of avoiding an argument and hatred.

That was all in the past. My life wasn't exactly torn from me, I had a choice, one that I regret to this very day. Have you ever read old mythology books and wondered, _where did they get the idea of magic and why can't we use it?_ well it's all true. The creatures, the magic, even the gods, BUT the gods are not as they are shown in pictures. What are they? Well, have you ever read a book about Flammies? Have you ever heard the legend of two humans and a sprite killing a so called mana beast and saving the world? You have? Then you should know that the legends state that the Flammie race is extinct in our world. Well they are. What? You thought I was gonna say the legends were wrong? No legends are never wrong, myths however are sometimes, but this isn't a myth. You know what, let me just tell you how I learned all this.

It was January 11, 2009 my 17th birthday. No one from my family except for my brother had shown up for my birthday. My friends came, but at this time they had already left. It was 11:00pm on Sunday, which meant school tomorrow.

"I hate my birthday, it works just like the leap year." It really does work like that, if you don't believe me look at a calender.

"You should be happy you lived to see another year. Some don't live to see even one whole year."

"Well I'm not them am I? Unlike you and everyone else I know, my birthday is on a weekday for four years in a row."

"Can't you be happy at least one day of the year?"

"NO! Not only does my birth come on the weekend once ever four years, it's ALWAYS the day EVERYONE has to be at work for something urgent."

"That's just convenient."

"So it's a coincidence that uncle Markus had to be at a meeting?"

"Yeah," I cut him off.

"AT, the company's factory he competes with?!"

"Well...uh" My brother was clearly trying to come up with a lie of some sort.

"What about auntie Dorthea?!" Yelling makes everything better.

"She..." I cut him off again.

"SHE, was promoted to a job of the company SHE OWNED!! HOW CAN YOU BE PROMOTED TO A HIGHER RANK WHEN YOU'RE THE FREAKIN BOSS OF THE ENTIRE ORGANIZATION?! AND WHAT ABOUT MOM AND DAD?!" Yelling really gets the point through.

"Mom had Andre that time!"

"SHE HAD HIM AT A FUCKING RESTAURANT?! ANDRE WAS BORN ON THE 31st OF JULY!!" I think the idea of how my life was during this time has been clearly stated.

"ALRIGHT! So we avoid you. Ain't nothin to be getting pissed off about."

"BRIAN, DO YOU HAVE ANY FUCKING IDEA WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE ISOLATED FROM YOUR OWN FUCKING FAMILY?!"

"How wouldn't I? I was the bad-ass of the family. You think I wasn't isolated?" I love how his question was so very untrue.

"EVERYONE LOVED YOU!! IT WAS ALWAYS ABOUT YOU AND ANDRE!! WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO SHAUN?! I'M PART OF THIS FAMILY TOO!!"

"It was never about us! All mom and dad ever cared about was themselves." I pointed to the PS3 and Xbox360 by that our parents bought for him. "They've bought you nice things too."

"You know what, I'm done here. Shut the hell up and leave me alone. I'm going to bed." I normally don't curse much, unless I'm really angry or the word is appropriate for the situation.

My brother was 19 and had already moved out. I lived at home with careless mom and dad and my little brother Andre. I have an older sister who is a doctor and would have come, but she had to preform surgery. How did I know? Because I saw the person myself.

Long story short, I was a neglected kid in the family. Normally went unnoticed so I was able to get away with a lot of things, like stealing from my dad's wallet or mom's purse. Back to the explanation to how I became what I am now.

I left my brother to pack up his stuff and go. I was tired of seeing or even hearing about my family. For months now I've wished I could just leave and do whatever I wanted. Go on some quest, save the world, anything. Just as long as I wasn't with them. I flopped onto my bed and stared at the ceiling.

_Why am I the unlucky one? How come everyone else has families who love them? Is this some sort of curse? Bad karma from a previous life? I don't deserve this! I hate my life, why can't I be normal like everyone else? Is my life a joke? Just some petty entertainment for whatever the hell is up there? Fucking assholes._

"One day...do you hear me? I will make you suffer for giving me a fucked up life. DO YOU HEAR ME!" I have got to stop talking to my imagination.

So I'm a little messed up in the head, you would be too if you were neglected. Piss off it's not my fault that my life was this way. To be honest, ever since we moved out here I felt like I was being watched.

As always, I felt someone else's presence nearby. Normally I just believed this feeling was my paranoia. Something wasn't right this time though. Something was in my backyard, I knew it. I tossed on my jacket and ran back to the front door just as my brother left out. I ran out the door and ran into the backyard, I know he heard me because I heard his footsteps behind me.

"SHAUN!" I ignored him and ran into the backyard. There was nothing there. I carefully looked around, and so nothing out of the ordinary. "Shaun what are you doing?" My brother asked me. I noticed he still had his bag with him.

"Something is back here...I know it." He looked at me as if I was crazy. I am...somewhat, but something was back here, I'm sure of it.

"Now all of a sudden you scared that something is in the backyard?" He asked.

"I know something is back here. I can feel it."

"We all know you have a paranoia problem. If it makes you feel better I'll stay here then."

"How is that going to make me feel better?"

"It's not, I'm just felt like beating RE5."

"...Fine." I was still pissed at him, but I wasn't going to pass up playing RE5.

About 30 minutes into the game, there was wind blowing hard against the house. Wind doesn't get that rough out here in Michigan. I paused the game and listened.

"Why'd you pause it?" My brother asked, I shushed him and listened to the wind. It was blowing pretty hard and in sequence, as if someone was turning a large industrial fan on and off. There was a quiet thump and the wind stopped blowing. I ran into my room and lifted my mattress. It was still there, my handgun. Never thought I'd ever use it or even touch it again before school was over. I looked back and saw Brian hadn't followed me to my room. I ran full speed outside and saw him heading towards the backyard. What the hell was he doing? We both knew something was back there, something big. Well whatever it was, it was really skilled at hiding. I saw nothing when I got back there, aside from my brother scanning the area. I walked up to him.

"Okay that's enough RE5, you should get going." I told him.

"And leave you here with whatever the hell that was?" So nice that he cares. At least he does. I turned and froze in place. My brother had begun walking back to the front, he hadn't noticed what was on the ground under him. A huge shadow, of something and it was getting larger. I grabbed his arm and dived back, dragging him to the ground with me. Just as I did that something huge crashed into the ground. We looked up at whatever it was that fell to the ground. I have never seen such a thing in my entire life, although the figure was somewhat familiar. The beast had to have been at least 10ft tall, and that's on all fours, then again I'm bad with measurements on sight so give or take a few feet. I looked it in the eye, those large blood red orbs. So terrifying...so very terrifying.

"Sh-Shaun?"

"Y-Yeah?"

"Is...is this real?"

"I...I don't know." I tried to stand despite my legs' being weak from fear. If this thing was going to strike, I'll have to be ready.

"_Are you the one?" _I heard a demonic voice, from somewhere.

"What was that?" I asked.

"_Are you the one?"_ The same voice asked. Was it coming from this...creature?

"The...one?" I asked. Put my hand on the trigger of my gun. I don't know what's going on or what this thing is and why it looks familiar.

"_Are you the offspring of human and Flammie?"_ Okay I've confirmed that this creature was talking to me. But what the hell was a Flammie and why does it sound so familiar?

"I don't know what you're talking about. What is this, Flammie?" I asked.

"Who are you talking to?" I hadn't noticed Brian standing right at my side.

"You don't hear the voice?"

"What voice?" Okay so this thing was talking telepathically to me.

"_Answer me if you do not wish to die."_ Oh great, now my life is on the line. I pulled on the trigger slightly and prepared to fire.

"How am I supposed to answer if I don't know what a Flammie is?" I asked. The creature let off an eerie glow, revealing blackish purple fur, a red underside and hair off the head, and purple wings fading into red. I now remembered what a Flammie was, a legendary and very powerful dragon race. They hold several magical qualities and used to be a peaceful race living along side humans. Their fur may look and feel soft, don't be fooled. It's harder than diamond, and their hide is said to be even stronger. There is only one thing strong enough to pierce it, the sword of mana. Neither of them were real, at least we thought they weren't. If Flammies are real then so must the sword be.

"Shaun, is that...a Flammie?!" I see he's been reading his books. I ignored him. I also didn't answer the Flammie's question.

"_I'll ask you one last time, are you the offspring of human and Flammie? Answer me if you value your life." _

"I'm a human as you can clearly see. I have nothing in common with you." I answered. The Flammie stepped towards us. An evil grin etched across its face, a hungry look in its eye. It was going to attack. "Brian we should run..."

"Where? He's blocking the only exit and jumping the fence might take too long." That ruled out one escape route. We slowly walked backwards, watching his every move. At this rate we'll be backed against the fence. In a split second I aimed and fired at his eye, the bullet was deflected and had no effect. I fired the entire clip at him, none of it did anything.

"Shit...that was a waste. What do we do now?" I asked Brian.

"How am I supposed to know? I ain't never had to deal with something like this before." We were backed up against the fence now. The Flammie rose his foreleg.

"_I was going to kill you both regardless if you were the offspring." _He swung, I dropped and laid flat on the ground just barely dodging the swipe, but Brian didn't. He was hit and knocked all the way into and through the fence to our left.

"BRIAN!!" I wasn't sure if he was even still alive. After a hit like that something had to be broken. Instead of paying attention to Brian I should have been paying attention to the Flammie as it had just slammed its forepaw down on me. It felt like being smashed by a hundred ton weight. To make things worse Flammies actually have thumbs on their forepaws, I felt like a toy being played with by a young child. Lifted high over his head, I could actually see over my house. Then he slammed me into the ground, what confuses me is why that didn't kill me just now. That should have splattered me all over the dirt and grass. Yeah it hurt like hell, but it didn't even knock me unconscious.

"_You are the offspring. No human would have survived that."_ I'm...one of them? But my parents...wait it all makes sense. Why they all avoided me, they were afraid of me! Well I'm still going to die anyway. Nice to know why I was avoided by my family though. He lifted me and stared right into my eyes. His grin stretched into a demonic smile. A normal person would have a heart attack if they saw this. I was actually frozen in fear, not that I could move anyway, me being in his grasp in all. Then with both paws, he began to squeeze. What is with all these giant behemoths and titans, crushing their victims like this. I couldn't even scream out in pain since I hadn't even been given time to breathe after being slammed. I heard a car engine, and the fence being destroyed. Brian drove his car into the back of the Flammie, knocking me out of his grasp and over the fence behind me.

"DON'T YOU EVER THINK ABOUT HURTING MY LITTLE BROTHER!!" He yelled. There were several loud gunshots and a roar. Had he managed to hurt him or did he just piss him off? I struggled to my feet, my chest was in serious pain right now. I hoped there was nothing broken. I managed to get to my feet only to be hit to the side by the Flammie's tail swinging as he turned, destroying that part of the fence in progress.

"Damn it..." I was kind of fading out of consciousness. "Not...now...Brian...needs me." I fought as much as I could to stay awake. I heard him scream out in pain and a loud crash along with something collapsing. I jumped to my feet, but almost fell due to the massive daze. I looked up and saw Brian at the other side of the yard trying to stand, he's still alive but for how long? After shaking of the daze I ran at the Flammie and climbed up his back and onto his head. I tried punching his eye, didn't work like I planned. Punching his eye felt like punching some sort of giant gem. He didn't even blink! Ignoring the pain from hitting his eye, I kept trying into he grabbed and threw me away into the fence which I crashed through and hit the neighbors tool shed.

"SHAUN NO!!" Brian yelled before being thrown the same way. He was out and maybe badly hurt. I was fighting to stay awake.

"Damn it...it hurts..." It was becoming harder to move. My vision was becoming obscured, sound fading. I managed to roll onto my back and look at the starry sky. To think this is the last thing I'll see before I die. The beautiful night sky. One of the stars sparkled brightly and grew larger. Something was falling, but what? It landed right next to me in the ground. Sitting right there, the sword, the blade of legend. I was given a chance at surviving and this blade is it. Mustering all of my strength I struggled to my feet. I barely made it and had to use the sword as support. I spit out some blood as I made it to my feet. I pulled the sword from the ground, it shone a beautiful white light. The power within this blade was amazing, I could feel it coursing through my body while just holding it! I felt like I could do anything!

"_It...It cannot be! Why has the blade chosen YOU?! A FLAMMIE CANNOT WIELD THE MANA SWORD!!" _I was well aware of that, but apparently my human side allowed such a thing to happen. He charged at me and I did the same. As I closed in he prepared to strike, just as he swung I blocked, didn't work well. I wasn't sent flying or even off my feet, but I was pushed back some and off balance. As soon as I regained my footing, I ran forward and readied the sword. I waited for him to attack, when he did I swung back. Amazingly I knocked him back which left him open. Taking this opportunity, I jumped forward and jabbed the sword through his chest. I know I didn't hit anything vital so I pulled the sword out and backed up. As he was bent over clenching his chest in pain, I jumped and brought the sword down on his head, slicing it in half. He fell to the ground and slowly disintegrated. Great now how do I explain this to everyone?

I glanced back at Brian. He was still out, alive but out. If that Flammie was sent here to kill me, who knows how many more there really are. How am I supposed to fight a whole army? How am I supposed to fight a whole army of super beings? I need to know more, but how?

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**Shaun is based entirely off of myself same thoughts, same attitude, same act. Brian might become a major character, but I'm still not sure. Shaun's past? Well he'll get around to explaining that soon.  
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** I hope you liked this.**

**Review and let me know what you think.**


	2. It All Begins

**Well my R4 chip came in so that's really gonna be taking my time. School's almost over, just a couple more months so I've gotta get my head outta my ass and quit lazing off. Time for me to jump from C average to at least a 3.5 GPA. Over the last week I had given my sister my laptop because something is wrong with hers and it can no longer recharge. **

**What's messed up about that is that it was over vacation time and all of my friends were going out of state, shoulda asked to go to Florida with my brother. At least then I wouldn't have been sitting in the house or walking around the city bored out of my mind. **

**I need to make up my mind on what I am going to do...I have too much on my agenda. Drawing, trying to make music(haven't started yet), finding a job, making a comic with my friends, love life, gaming, school, and a few others I refrain from saying. **

**Well enough about that...

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**Chapter 2: It All Begins**

I bet you were wondering why no one had even heard that battle aren't you, well I didn't expect you to because at this time I hadn't even known either. Didn't think about it until my brother had recovered. It's amazing he survived period, I can understand how I did, but not him. I'm not completely human, I've got wings and a tail, but at that time they hadn't grown. Well three of my wishes were granted, I have wings, a tail, and I went on an adventure, but to do what I won't say...yet. I will tell you that I am highly respected and feared. Brian? Well, he's in a better place now...He's not dead, what the hell were you thinking?! You think I'd let someone kill my brother? Hell no, you people are crazy. A human like him can't be allowed to die so easily. Why? That's classified, I only know why because I was chosen. Only the higher ups know and I'm only considered one because of the blade. I can't tell anyone, I have but I shouldn't have. Their blood stains the carpets so fucking badly it even goes through and stains the floor. I think it's still alive even though the body was destroyed. Who's blood? I can't guarantee your survival if I tell you, but oh well. The angels, their blood. No I'm not evil for killing one, it was self defense. Their judgment is just and what they say goes. So by their word it was self defense. The guy thought he could just blow up my dining hall and try to kill me to take my power, this ain't the fucking Highlander. There can be more than one, he just wasn't one of them. It don't matter who the sword chooses, if you have a pure heart and am wielding it you too can utilize it's power. Won't be as much as the chosen, nor can you use it on him/her, or hurt the innocent with it, but it's more than enough for what any normal pure hearted person would use it for. A sword's a sword though, if your heart isn't pure you can still wield it, sure it'll weigh about a few hundred tons give or take 10 or so, well it's really the more impure the more it weighs. The average human would be able to carry it, to them it'd weigh about 50-200 pounds. On someone dark, about a ton, someone pure evil would not even be allowed to touch it. Wonder if you could hold it? You can, most of you anyway. I left off right after killing the first Flammie seen by anyone in centuries...

I sat against the tool shed next to my unconscious brother, thinking about what that thing had said. 'Offspring of Flammie and human' How could I not be human? If I know correctly the Mana Sword cannot be weld by a Flammie, only a human of pure heart. The way it glistens in the moonlight, it's full power is accessible by me. Sure if I was part Flammie using it wouldn't be of any problem, but drawing strength from it would be. Besides both of my parents are human, neglectful, but human. I know for a moment I believed him, but there is no way that's possible. Further more, where did he come from anyway. There hasn't been a Flammie on this plant possibly ever. If there was one...then there could be more, thousands more.

The full moon never looked more beautiful. I could stare at it all night long. I felt rejuvenated and full of energy just sitting there basking in the moonlight. In fact I felt stronger than before, but I had assumed it was because of the Mana Sword.

Brian moaned and drowsily pushed himself up before jumping to his feet ready to fight.

"He's dead. I killed him." I told him. He looked at me clearly confused as to how I managed to kill it when a shotgun wouldn't even pierce its skin. I held up the blade and his expression changed completely.

"Is that..." He couldn't even finish the sentence.

"Yeah, it is. Chose me at the perfect time too."

"Why did it choose you? Y-..." He trailed off.

"I don't know, but I'm not complaining. We're still alive thanks to it so there must be a reason for it."

"What ever the reason is. I'm grateful for it." He's taking this lightly. Too lightly, then again we were almost killed by a mythical beast.

"So how are we gonna explain this to mom and dad?" I asked.

"To mom and dad? How are we gonna explain this to the state?! We can't just go out there saying 'We were attacked by a dragon!' I'm not going to Rehab or jail."

"No way in hell I'm going there...wait where is everyone?"

"Huh? What do you mean everyone?"

"Part of our house is destroyed, the entire fence surrounding our property is destroyed, your car is in someone's living room, and there were several roars, and other various loud noises."

"Maybe they are hiding?"

"From something that will prove the government wrong?!"

"You're right...someone should have been out here taking pictures and calling the police."

"I doubt they would rush here...but no one came outside and saw what happened. Something can't be right. I think we should check." He agreed and we went towards the house his car flew into. I rang the doorbell, no one answered. Brian banged on the door, but I just decided to walk through the large gaping hole in the side.

"Hello?" I called. No one answered. I walked around the house searching for anyone. "Hello?" Still no answer.

"You find anyone?" Brian asked as he walked around to the kitchen. Don't recall him entering the house.

"No. You check the basement, I'll check upstairs." I made my way to the upstairs bedrooms. There were two apparently for the kids and the parent's bedroom. There was no one in any of them, but in the parent's room, I found a sheet of paper. On it said 'Judgment Day'. What was judgment day?

"SHAUN!!" I heard Brian yell from the basement. I ran out the room fast as I could and jumped down the stairs. Making my way to the basement, I saw a smudge in the carpet. Looked kind of like blood, but I'll have to examine it later. I made my way down to the basement. There were notes everywhere, on each one 'Judgment Day'. Brian stood there, confused as to what this all meant.

"You ever heard of this Judgment day?" He asked. Now that he had mentioned it, I recalled reading something about it. It was probably in some old manga though because something like this I would never forget. I don't remember much about it, something about a kid being left alone after everyone has been sent to 'salvation' as the world begins anew. That's about all I remember.

"I think I read about it once. Not sure where though..." I paused because I heard something from above. It sounded like moaning, like the moaning zombies do as they do nothing. We both glanced at eachother before darting back up to the main floor and outside. The streets were filled with people, adults and children. What I heard wasn't moaning, it was chanting, in another language. Each person wore a white cloak, I wonder where they got these. Brian had already run up to one of them and tried talking to her. I decided to do the same. I glanced around and chose the nearest person.

"Hey you, what is going on? What are you doing?" I received no answer. Not even any recognition of existence. "Don't ignore me when I'm talking to you! "What are you people doing?" She continued chanting as if I was never there. Staring at the full moon in the sky."Answer me!" Still there was no response from her so I gave up.

"You get anything out of anyone?" I hadn't noticed Brian come over to where I was.

"No, it's like these people are possessed. They aren't going anywhere though."

"Just standing there chanting and staring at the sky."

"At the sky..." I looked up at the moon. Nothing abnormal about it, other than the feeling of serenity and strength given off by it. I closed my eyes and stood there in the moonlight. I hadn't noticed, but an hour had passed as I stood there. By the time I realized what I was doing everyone was gone, even Brian.

"Brian?" Asshole ditched me. At a time like this I think it would be best if we stayed at least nearby. An eerie silence filled the air, there was no wind, not even the normal sounds of the night. I began walking slowly down the street. There was a loud sort of musical cry that broke the silence. I felt drawn to it and began walking in the direction it came from. There was another cry, this time closer than before. I began to feel a need to reach what ever it was making this noise. After hearing it a third time I began to run towards where it was coming from. There were faint cheers from a crowd, coming from the city park. People were coming into sight, those white robes really stand out. They were circled around something big and black standing on the hill in the park, probably another Flammie. I took down one, I can take down another. Should have devised a plan while sprinting through the open parking lot, that fence around the baseball diamond will slow me down. I could go around but then I'd be wasting time. Sure I procrastinate daily for about three hours, but right now I don't think that's an option. Then again I wouldn't want to be spotted, but I most likely would still be since I'm not wearing a white robe and am probably the only one carrying a legendary sword.

"The time has come." This one wasn't speaking telepathically. What did it mean the time has come? Wait...Judgment Day. Does it have something to do with them? It would explain why the entire city is in the park surrounding this thing. It didn't seem to have noticed me just yet though. Unless it said that to me. I slowed down when I reached the fence of the baseball diamond. There in clear view was a huge crowd of people on white robes, there were more people over there than I had previously thought. The others were behind the playthings or standing in the mini forest behind trees. The Flammie spoke some more, but I ignored it as it had nothing to do with me.

I decided to run out in the open around the fence. A strategy would have been nice at the time, but that's something Brian would have suggested. That reminds me, where was he right now? After what happened not too long ago I'd expect him to be smart and stay nearby me since I am most likely his best bet for protection from anything not natural. I never took my eyes off of the Flammie once as I ran around the fence. I noticed that it was facing the other direction, though it most likely heard me running towards it. Ears as big as those probably let you hear a mile away, maybe farther. That may be exaggerating though. I made my way to the crowd and began pushing people out of my way. After about a minute I finally broke through the last row of people. By now I was exhausted for running so long, so I stopped in the open. I found it pretty amazing how even under the moonlight, these Flammies manage to appear as if in shadows. Even on this hill it remained shadowed.

"So you have come." The Flammie spoke. It hadn't even turned around to face me. I inched closer. "You cannot stop us. It has already begun."

"What do you mean stop you? I didn't even plan on seeing one of you! I was just randomly attacked by a purple and red one who was going to kill me for reasons that I don't even know. I knew nothing of something beginning nor did I want to stop anything. I'm just looking for my brother."

"Your brother?" It turned slowly. There was someone held in its paw. "Do you mean this child?" At a closer look I realized that person it held was Brian. He was knocked out, again.

"What did you do to him?!" I dunno why I asked that. I couldn't care less what exactly it did. Brian was hurt...again, and I was pissed because of this. I didn't even wait for an answer from it before charging forward ready to kill. Well I got the answer to the question as to what happened to my brother because just as I was within striking range, its striking range, it swung its tail and swatted me back into some people. They cushioned my fall, but the hit still hurt. Did I forget to mention this Flammie was bigger than the first one? Just as I stood up I noticed that it was cocking back, inhaling a lot of air. I already knew what was coming and began to climb over any fallen people in my way. It exhaled, blowing blue flames down at me. Something about those flames wasn't right, I didn't feel any heat coming from it. Anything it touched was incinerated, but I didn't feel anything from it.

_The sword will protect you._

Those words, I didn't even hear them. They appeared more like an image in my mind. Not spoken or even written. I stood my ground in the flames. Slowly I began to feel the heat. It became hotter and hotter until it was unbearable and I had to move.

_But not for long._

Wish it told me that sooner before I made a stupid mistake like that. I ran around the Flammie and slowly closed in while avoiding the fire, running around in a circle around him while closing in slowly. The grass around us was incinerated, some parts still lit but most of it didn't even catch fire. I changed my path and ran directly at him, only to be stopped by him swinging his tail, forcing me to jump back. Of course I just ran right back up, but he did the same thing. This time though while jumping back I threw the sword at his face. He stopped it with his paw, but I could see blood dripping from it. Taking this opportunity I ran forward again, this time I managed to get close and jump onto his underbelly, using the folds as hand and footholds. I climbed upwards towards his foreleg, needed to get that sword back. Going as fast as I could I made it to the fur on his foreleg and started progressing from there. He swung and tried to throw me off, but I held on too tight. A downfall of having really strong fur, anything climbing on it has no worries of it being pulled out. The sword was just within reach. Just as I grabbed it, I lost grip and was thrown off, but I managed to get the sword back. Apparently having it yanked out like that hurt. The Flammie tossed Brian and gripped it's wrist in pain. Too busy to notice me running up yet again. He did once I stabbed him several times in the underbelly. Flammies' roars are ear splitting, had to cover mine as it roared in pain leaving me wide open. Just as it stopped, it grabbed me and threw me really hard into the mini forest of the park. Slammed through a tree and part of another. Something had to have been broken from that, but that wasn't that big of a deal as the first tree I went through was now on it's way downward onto me.

"Fuck..." Well I enjoyed my life somewhat, never thought this would be how it ended. Always thought it would end with me being killed by someone with a gun.

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**My OpenOffice's spellcheck was broken at the time this was written, dunno why. Just happened randomly. No big deal though, I'll just reinstall. **

**Umm...let's see...something to say...Nope nothin. Covered everything at the start, nothing to be explained about the story down here.**


	3. I Didn't Die

** Don't think I've forgotten about this. For the few of you who would care, I am going to update this every now and then, and by every now and then, I mean rarely. So, enjoy.**

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**Chapter 3: I Didn't Die**

Oh you're back? So my story must interest you. Wait, you thought I died under that tree? If I died then, how am I here now? What do you mean you aren't human so you didn't know whether death was permanent. It IS permanent! Shit if I died you wouldn't be here talking to me now. In fact you probably just wouldn't be here. A small change in the past can have a huge effect in the future. If I died, I wouldn't have done what I have. What did I do? You'll learn soon enough. I won't tell you right now, but I'll get around to it. Anyway I don't really have much to say before I start. What about those angels I mentioned before? Look I'm not gonna save your asses if they come for you. Alright fine since you don't care, it's your funeral. You see, the angels are supposed to keep things in order. What I did back then was what made the world the way it is now. Without me this would be a world of technology still. Could have just left it the way it was, but there is a big reason why I couldn't. You little flammie there, should know. You don't? Good, don't go feeling bad about your kind's past either. I felt like shit for years because of it and I'm only half. I made the difference and even then it still hurt me for what they did and what I had to do in order to survive. To this day I still regret it. I'm getting off subject. In order to make the world peaceful enough again, I had to defy their law. For some time they were after me to give what they called holy judgment. So far all that was, was to let the world continue the way it was. Many of them had no idea what was even going on. The goddess knew, but she decided to stay in the dark. Let me handle what she should have. This is her world, not mine. Why cant she do her job instead of sending someone else? She doesn't have a physical form. The closest thing to a possible physical form to her is the tree itself. I'm pretty sure none of you have seen it in person. Where is it? I won't tell you. I won't tell anyone. I'll never tell anyone. No, not even you all. I CAN however tell you where it used to be. I had it moved some years ago. Only a few know where it is and they know what happens if they tell. Well it was originally in the same sanctuary for however long. I dunno since I wasn't born then. Go speak with the elders or the spirits if you want to know how long it's been there. Hopefully we won't have to go through the same crap again now that I moved the tree. Modern humans were not ready for magic like they once were in the past. Go ask my brother if you want to know why. He knows better than anyone. But before you do that, let me tell you what happened next after being crushed by that tree...

I awoke in a pitch black area, clearly not in a forest under a tree. The place was kind of hot and muggy with a strange wind blowing, almost like paced breathing. There was a chocolaty smell in the air too. Wasn't hitting me, but I could hear it as if it was blowing in and out of something. The sword was till held firmly in my grasp. As wild a sleeper as I am, I was surprised I managed to hold on to it. I began to sit up, but barely moved as my arms rubbed up against what felt like fur. Upon further inspection, I was certain it was fur, lots of it. _Please let this not be what I think it is._ I thought to myself. I slowly slid my right arm outward. Right there I felt something hard, but it moved away and I thought, _That felt...familiar._ I slowly sat up with my hand out above me until I felt a large feather and thought, _IT IS! ITS ONE OF THEM! OH MAN WHAT DO I DO!? Wait it's asleep. I'm not on grass, I'm on rock. Either it took me to its den, or I just so happened to be lying right where it went to sleep. No it would have noticed me...I'm underneath its wing and it's clearly curled up around me. Almost as if its trying to keep me warm. Why would it do that? If it took care of me while I was out, then it can't mean any harm. I guess I could force myself back to sleep. _Too bad I couldn't. I just lie there, tossing and turning in an attempt to fall asleep. Eventually, I managed to.

There was a loud tear followed by a quiet gasp as something fell right next to my ear. Silence filled the air, but I could tell that whatever it was that was there was reaching for what fell next to me. I rolled over on top of the thing that fell next to me. It was a chocolate bar, and a pretty big one. I had no idea they came in this size. It's bigger than my face! I've never before in my life even heard of chocolate bars this big.

"Oh no!" Someone whispered as I rolled over the chocolate bar. That didn't stop them though. I felt the presence of a hand getting closer to my face. Seriously, it's just an oversized chocolate bar. Further more, it fell on the ground and I'm lying on it AND breathing on it. Who or whatever it was reaching for this bar was pretty big and making me a bit uneasy. Since I was wide awake by now, I barely opened my eyes, and right there in my face, was a padded palm...paw. I slid my head back a little off the chocolate and it snatched it up and let out a sigh of relief.

"Whew, I didn't wake him." It whispered to itself. Anyone with a right mind could tell that I was awake right now. Mainly because I SLID my head back. This Flammie clearly means no harm to me as far as I know. It's not as big as the other ones I fought, but it's still bigger than me. It's probably still just a child. This one's color scheme was an overall vanilla color with orange hair and an orange underbelly. The wings fade into an emerald green too at the tips of the feathers .I sat up without it noticing and surveyed the area from what I could see. There were candy wrappers everywhere. You'd think it had manners enough to clean up when it has a guest. Well I can't talk, my room's probably cleaner now that it's destroyed than when it was still there. There was a large pile of unopened sweets among various other junk foods. How does it open these wrappers when its paws are so large? Not all of the candy was oversized like that chocolate bar which I WILL find out where it came from. Some of it was bite sized. I yawned and it noticed.

"You're awake!" It spoke.

"I am? Really? From what I know, dragons don't exist. Neither do magical swords." Am I denying what just happened? Even after I wake up from it? Once you fall asleep in a dream, you wake up. At least I have in all the dreams I can remember when I fell asleep in one.

"This isn't a dream." It tried to explain, but I cut in.

"If it isn't, why am I still here? There's no way I could have survived any of the damage I took. Being crushed like that!? I wish someone was there to measure the force of that. Also, I've confirmed that this Flammie is female. She doesn't sound too mature. Dunno if she acts it. I doubt it, anyone this messy can't be.

"Because you're a halfling. Born from a human and a Flammie." She answered.

"Okay so tell me, how does that work? A Flammie and a human having a kid." I asked.

"Hmm...You see, when a mommy and a daddy-" She began, but I cut her off, knowing exactly what she was going to say.

"Ah I don't need that bull! I know the process," Apparently it works the same. "what I was asking was, how the hell does a human impregnate a dragon who's anywhere from three times their size, to the size of a house?" I rephrased my question.

"That's what I was trying to explain, before you interrupted me." She was not helpful...at all. Plenty more from where she came from though. I'll just ask the one who took my brother while I'm slowing skinning him alive. I could always use an indestructible fur coat.

"Nevermind...Is this your den? It's a bit messy..." Scratch that, it makes my room look clean.

"You kind of caught me in the middle of feeding myself...and yes. I get around to cleaning after I'm satisfied." She answered.

"You have quite a bit of a sweet tooth there. You eat all this at one time? Seems like you'd singlehandedly sell out a shop with all this. Not to mention kill yourself with this unhealthy diet in one shot." I stood up and walked over to the pile of junk food.

"I don't eat it all at one time. All of that there has actually built up over the month. I usually eat only the things that will spoil soon before getting to the rest." She answered.

"Where did you get all this? Bags of cookies, hard candy, suckers, lollipops...big ones, chewy candy, boxes of donuts, cinnamon buns, store brand pie...a fresh pie...cherry...still steaming too, potato chips, are those lettuce leaves? Is that a chicken!? What did you do, rob a bakery and a bunch of grocery stores!? I wouldn't be surprised to find a birthday cake and a grill with ribs cooking right now." I actually started searching for a knife to cut this pie.

"The people in the village down below. They've fed me and took care of me these past 200 years. But none of them were able to satisfy a hunger that I grew when I matured. For 400 hundred years I hungered...until you came along. You satisfied that hunger." My stomach dropped when she said that. Along with the steaming hot pie that was now all over my left leg. I slowly turned to face her. My face probably twisted more than the twisted licorice by my feet. The way she was leaning towards me, was scaring me shitless right now. The look on her face didn't make anything better.

"H-h-hunger f-for...w-what?" I wasn't sure if I wanted to know. The way she chuckled pretty much sealed the deal on my assumption.

"A strong human soul." Her answer didn't exactly confirm my assumption, but it didn't prove me wrong.

"What do you mean?" At least now I wasn't stuttering.

"A strong human soul. Literally a strong human soul." I felt like the world was lifted from my shoulders when she said that. But it also raised another question.

"Why would you need a strong human soul?" I asked.

"Flammies need human souls to survive after long periods of times. Usually every 100 years, we must eat a human soul. Give or take 20 or so years. The weakest souls must be consumed wholly turning the host into an emotionless doll. A normal soul can be consumed partially leaving the host weakened for a week or so, or consumed completely, strengthening the consumer. However, we only require a very small portion from a strong human soul to satisfy that hunger. If we were to take it all, our power would increase several times. It's rare to find humans with one as strong as yours. Yours soul may be the strongest I've ever seen. No one can touch it against your will or without very powerful dark magic." She explained.

"Wait, why is mine so strong? Shouldn't it be weaker due to the fact that I'm half Flammie?" I asked.

"Yes, it should. The Flammie half should be consuming the human half even now as we speak, but your human half is protected by what looks like mana. Not only that, but a second barrier beneath the mana. I don't know if I should take any even with your approval. I don't know if I can..." She seemed a bit worried.

"You can try. You don't seem that evil so I feel like I can trust you not to go too far. Besides if you do, I'll just carve you up in front of your little village people." My real reason for it was because I owed her that much for keeping me alive. I don't have a single scar on me.

"Thanks...you might want to close your eyes." She told me.

"What for?" I asked.

"If you want to stare down my throat, be my guest." I guess when she puts it that way, I'd shut my eyes. Which I did. After about a minute she spoke. "I can't do it."

"I think I know why. You said that mana was blocking it too right? Then maybe if I put down the sword." I suggested.

"No, forget about it. If you open up you soul, your Flammie half is going to attempt to take over." Why is she so concerned about that?

"Is that a bad thing?" I asked.

"Yes, in one case. If your Flammie half takes over, the sword will reject you. I don't know what will happen if your Flammie half consumes the human half. You could grow wings and or a tail. You could transform into a full-fledged Flammie. There could be no effect at all other than the sword rejecting. You could just grow out more hair and your skin could harden more. You could gain insuperable power." She explained. Sounds sorta like a win/lose situation, I lose the sword, but could become stronger.

"Nothing bad can happen from it? If it wasn't for this sword, I'd accept it. I do wonder what it's like to be one of you right now."

"There are bad points. If you even have an ounce of darkness within, you could become horribly corrupt. Destroying any and everything in sight just to fuel your evil intentions. You could become an honorable dark Flammie who lives out his days seeking only souls worthy enough for you to consume. You could become an evil dark Flammie who only wants to consume as many souls as possible. You could simply become a dark magic master, guided by the dark spirit himself. And several minor possibilities." She explained

"I guess that makes it more like a double edged sword. Sharp or dull." I felt that comment was a bit off.

"I guess you could say that. There aren't very many situations where you could gain more than you lose and in many cases you could lose everything. Are you sure you want to open up to your other half? I only need a small portion, but your other half wants it all and will take as much as possible. I can't guarantee how much it will take in a short amount of time. It could be drawing on the power of the sword just like your human half." I hadn't thought about that. I would have agreed right away if she didn't mention it being stronger from the sword. "I'm not forcing you to do anything." She added.

"I'll have to think about it. I don't really like the idea of risking so much just to keep you alive or make you stronger when you could do that from anyone else."

"I understand." She told me.

"Anyway, why did you take care of me?" I asked.

"Because you wield the Mana Sword. You're the only one who can stop them from consuming every human soul on earth. They don't come back when they're gone. The only reason you still have yours is because of the sword. They would have consumed it by now. In the condition you were in, the only protection it had was mana. If they didn't get it, your other half would have. If I hadn't been flying by at the time you would have died. Your body was torn and battered. All but your right arm. They were going to destroy your body. If they couldn't have your soul, then they would have prevented another Flammie like me from getting to it." She must be a good doctor then. There isn't even a scar on my body. She even gave me a new set of the same clothes I was wearing.

"What do you mean by a Flammie like you? A good one?" I asked.

"Yes, but I haven't been able to do anything about them. I have been protecting this village for 200 years. Waiting for the one who could wield the Mana Sword. I just never imagined it would be a halfling. This makes everything better for us. You have enhanced abilities and a powerful soul, but with the sword, you can't use magic without opening up to your other half. If you can manage to draw the mana from the air then you could, however the technique is old and forgotten and all information about it other than the knowledge of its existence has been destroyed by them in order to give the wielder, that would be you in this case, a disadvantage. You could easily put down the sword and open your soul, but then your other half would begin to consume your human half. In your case it may be hard to tell how much of your human half was still there if you don't feel any fatigue as you open your soul. I'd recommend finding a magician willing to stand up to them. There aren't very many magicians out there though, let alone ones who would stand up to them. Ever since the witch hunts, magicians stopped practicing for fear of being killed. Their magical skill diminished. They never taught their children magic. However, there are some out there who discover their magical strength. You'll never know who it is until you see it. They don't dress differently anymore. Many humans out there have potential, but without any knowledge of it or anything to study from, they never learn about it." So she's saying that I need to find a magician to help me out?

"Wait why would I need a magician when the only thing that can hurt a Flammie is the Mana Sword?" I asked.

"The Mana Sword, another Flammie, or very powerful magic. If you can find a magician who can reach the summoner's stage, they can help you fight. As long as you have that sword, they'll ever run out of mana to use." She answered.

"Well how do I find a magician if they don't even know?" I asked.

"They should draw in the mana created by the sword. I'll be able to see it as it is transferred." She answered.

"Great, I have to search the planet for a strong enough magician. If I find one who's not strong enough then I'll have to start ALL over...Wait you're coming with me right?"

"Yes, you can't find a magician without anyone to see the mana." She answered.

"Is the mana the faint green glow from the sword?" I asked.

"Y-yes it is! I didn't know you could see it in such a small quantity as that. To a human it should only be visible when in use. So you shouldn't need me." I guess we both forgot about my other half.

"That doesn't mean I don't need you! I can't walk all over the place. That would take too long. Besides, I don't want to walk the world alone...not with you Flammies flying around. All it would take is for one to swoop down and I'm done." I wasn't going to pass up a free world tour on the back of a magical dragon now. How many times do you get that offer? Never.

"Alright then it's settled. You clean up here, and I'll let the village know I'm leaving and gather supplies for us."

"What no! I'm not cleaning up this mess!" I yelled as she pushed a large boulder away from the opening to the cave. A cool wind blew in and sent chills through my body.

"If it's not clean when I get back, you're walking." She said as she climbed down from the ledge outside toward the village that was not visible from my current position.

"Son of a bitch! Why the hell do I have to clean up her mess!? I can't even clean my own room! I DON'T EVEN KNOW HER!!" I complained to myself. There wasn't exactly anything I could do about it. She did save my life, so I guess if she can't have part of my soul, this is the least I could do. "Man I hate cleaning." I said with a sigh.

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**Believe it or not, the idea of the Flammies consuming souls came from me noticing that the hero of the Mana series always put's his/her sword away or into the ground to cast magic. Shaun, being half Flammie himself can use magic, but at the risk of losing his human soul to his Flammie half. **


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